Directional beacon transmission and reception activity indication

ABSTRACT

Wireless directional communication is performed in the millimeter wave (mmW) band by nodes in a wireless mesh network. Beacon frames are configured to incorporate an activity indicator that signals active and inactive communication directions on the mmW, with a flag for each respective direction of communication (transmit or receive). The activity indicator is utilized to enhance route and beam selection so as to obtain connections subject to less interference, and/or that create less interference to other stations. The activity indicator is also, or alternately, utilized for improving selections of a connection to an access point (AP) or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA), toward reducing interference, or selecting which beam from a given AP, STA, or MSTA is to be utilized. Distributed interference and resource coordination can be initiated, and/or rerouting determined, based on the activity indicator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/921,397 filed on Mar. 14, 2018, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, which claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/597,484 filed on Dec. 12,2017, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF COMPUTER PROGRAM APPENDIX

Not Applicable

NOTICE OF MATERIAL SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

A portion of the material in this patent document may be subject tocopyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States andof other countries. The owner of the copyright rights has no objectionto the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent andTrademark Office publicly available file or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The copyright owner does nothereby waive any of its rights to have this patent document maintainedin secrecy, including without limitation its rights pursuant to 37C.F.R. § 1.14.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The technology of this disclosure pertains generally to directionalwireless communications between stations, and more particularly tocommunicating an activity indicator for each communication direction sothat interference can be reduced in the network.

2. Background Discussion

Due to the need of higher traffic capacity wireless networks in themillimeter wavelength (mm-wave or mmW) regime are becoming increasinglyimportant. Toward meeting this need for higher traffic capacity, networkoperators have begun to embrace the idea of densification. Current sub-6GHz wireless technology is not sufficient to cope with the high demandfor data. One easy alternative is utilizing more spectrum in the 30-300GHz band which is referred to as the millimeter wave band (mmW).

Enabling mmW wireless systems in general requires properly dealing withthe channel impairments and propagation characteristics of the highfrequency bands. High free-space path loss, high penetration, reflectionand diffraction losses reduce the available diversity and limitnon-line-of-sight (NLOS) communications.

The small wavelength of mmW enables the use of high-gain electronicallysteerable directional antennas of practical dimensions. This technologycan provide enough array gain to overcome path loss and ensure highSignal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at the receiver. Using directional meshnetworks in dense deployment environments and the mmW band provides anefficient way to achieve reliable communication between nodes andovercome line-of-sight channel restrictions.

A new communication node (station) starting up in an area will besearching for neighboring nodes to discover and a network to join. Theprocess of initial access of a node to a network comprises scanning forneighboring nodes and discovering all active local nodes. This can beperformed either through the new node searching for a specificnetwork/list of networks to join or the new node sends a broadcastrequest to join any already established network that will accept the newnode.

A node connecting to a mesh network needs to discover all neighboringnodes to decide on the best way to reach a gateway/portal mesh node andthe capabilities of each of these neighboring nodes. The new nodeexamines every channel for possible neighboring nodes for a specificperiod of time. If no active node is detected after that specific time,the node moves to the next channel.

When a node is detected, the new node needs to collect sufficientavailable information to configure itself (its PHY layer) for operationin the regulatory domain. This task is further challenging in mmWavecommunications due to directional transmissions. The challenges in thisprocess can be summarized as: (a) obtaining a knowledge of surroundingnode's IDs; (b) obtaining a knowledge of best transmission pattern forbeamforming; (c) keeping the whole network in synchronization over anextended period of time; (d) overcoming channel access issues whicharise due to collisions and deafness; and (e) channel impairments due toblockage and reflections.

Thus, improved neighborhood discovery methods are sought to overcomesome or all of the above issues to enable pervasiveness of mmWavedevice-to-device (D2D) and mesh technologies. However, existingtechnologies for mesh networking address mesh discovery solutions fornetworks operating in broadcast mode but are largely not targeted tonetworks having directional wireless communications.

Accordingly, a need exists for enhanced synchronization and beamformingmechanisms within wireless communication networks. The presentdisclosure fulfills that need and provides additional benefits overprevious technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A wireless communication circuit (station, node) with associatedprogramming configured for wirelessly communicating with other wirelesscommunication stations (nodes) comprising directional millimeter-wave(mmW) communications having a plurality of antenna pattern sectors eachhaving different transmission directions. Various forms of beacon framesare transmitted which incorporate an activity indicator that signalscommunication directions which have active data transmissions. In atleast one embodiment these activity indicators comprise a flag (orfield) for each respective direction of communication, to indicatewhether that direction is subject to active transmission or reception.

The stations utilize the activity indicator for making improvedselections of prospective connections so as to obtain connections thatare subject to less interference, and/or that create less interferenceto other stations. The activity indicator can also, or alternatively, beutilized when selecting a communication connection to an access point(AP) or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA), toward obtaining lessinterference in the network. The activity indicator can also, oralternatively, be utilized when selecting a communication beam from agiven access point (AP) or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA), towardobtaining less interference in the network. In addition, the activityindicator can also, or alternatively, be utilized as a basis forperforming a distributed interference and resource coordination byexchanging messages in a direction of potential high interference tooptimize overall communications and create less interference betweennodes in the mesh network. Still further, the activity indicator can beutilized as a basis for rerouting data through other nodes orcommunication beams whenever alternative communication routes existwhich are less spectrally congested or that are subject to lessinterference.

A number of terms are utilized in the disclosure whose meanings aregenerally described below.

A-BFT: Association-Beamforming Training period; a period announced inthe beacons that is used for association and BF training of new stations(STAs) joining the network.

AP: Access Point; an entity that contains one station (STA) and providesaccess to the distribution services, through the wireless medium (WM)for associated STAs.

Beamforming (BF): a directional transmission that does not use anOmni-directional antenna pattern or quasi-omni directional antennapattern. Beamforming is used at a transmitter to improve received signalpower or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at an intended receiver.

BI: The Beacon Interval is a cyclic super frame period that representsthe time between beacon transmission times.

BRP: BF refinement protocol; A BF protocol that enables receivertraining and iteratively trains the transmitter and receiver sides toachieve the best possible directional communications.

BSS: Basic Service Set; a set of stations (STAs) that have successfullysynchronized with an AP in the network.

BSSID: Basic Service Set Identification.

BHI: Beacon Header Interval which contains a beacon transmissioninterval (BTI) and association-beamforming training period (A-BFT).

BTI: Beacon Transmission Interval, is the interval between successivebeacon transmissions.

CBAP: Contention-Based Access Period; the time period within the datatransfer interval (DTI) of a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) BSS wherecontention-based enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is used.

D2D: device-to-device communication that is a direct communicationbetween two wireless nodes without the need to traverse an access point.

DTI: Data Transfer Interval; the period whereby full BF training ispermitted followed by actual data transfer. The DTI can include one ormore service periods (SPs) and contention-based access periods (CBAPs).

MAC address: a Medium Access Control (MAC) address.

MBSS: Mesh Basic Service Set; a basic service set (BSS) that forms aself-contained network of Mesh Stations (MSTAs), and which may be usedas a distribution system (DS).

MCS: Modulation and coding scheme; an index that can be translated intothe PHY layer data rate.

MSTA: Mesh station (MSTA); is a station (STA) that implements the Meshfacility. An MSTA that operates in the Mesh BSS may provide thedistribution services for other MSTAs.

Omni-directional: a non-directional antenna mode of transmission.

Quasi-Omni directional: a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) antennaoperating mode with the widest beamwidth attainable.

Receive sector sweep (RXSS): Reception of Sector Sweep (SSW) frames viadifferent sectors, in which a sweep is performed between consecutivereceptions.

SLS: Sector-level Sweep phase: a BF training phase that can include asmany as four components: an Initiator Sector Sweep (ISS) to train theinitiator, a Responder Sector Sweep (RSS) to train the responder link,such as using SSW Feedback and an SSW ACK.

SNR: received Signal-to-Noise Ratio in dB.

SP: Service Period; the SP that is scheduled by the access point (AP).Scheduled SPs start at fixed intervals of time.

Spectral efficiency: the information rate that can be transmitted over agiven bandwidth in a specific communication system, usually expressed inbits/sec/Hz.

STA: Station; a logical entity that is a singly addressable instance ofa medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to thewireless medium (WM).

Sweep: a sequence of transmissions, separated by a short beamforminginterframe space (SBIFS) interval, in which the antenna configuration atthe transmitter or receiver is changed between transmissions.

SSW: Sector Sweep, is an operation in which transmissions are performedin different sectors (directions) and information collected on receivedsignals, strengths and so forth.

Transmit Sector Sweep (TXSS): transmission of multiple Sector Sweep(SSW) or Directional Multi-gigabit (DMG) Beacon frames via differentsectors, in which a sweep is performed between consecutivetransmissions.

Further aspects of the technology described herein will be brought outin the following portions of the specification, wherein the detaileddescription is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodimentsof the technology without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The technology described herein will be more fully understood byreference to the following drawings which are for illustrative purposesonly:

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of active scanning performed in an IEEE802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN).

FIG. 2 is a node diagram for a mesh network showing a combination ofmesh and non-mesh stations.

FIG. 3 is a data field diagram depicting a mesh identification elementfor an IEEE 802.11 WLAN.

FIG. 4 is a data field diagram depicting a mesh configuration elementfor an IEEE 802.11 WLAN.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of antenna sector sweeping (SSW) in the IEEE802.11ad protocol.

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram showing signaling of sector-level sweeping(SLS) in the IEEE 802.11ad protocol.

FIG. 7 is a data field diagram depicting a sector sweep (SSW) frameelement for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 8 is a data field diagram depicting the SSW field within the SSWframe element for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are data field diagrams depicting SSW feedbackfields shown when transmitted as part of an ISS in FIG. 9A, and when nottransmitted as part of an ISS in FIG. 9B, as utilized for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 10 is a wireless node topology example of wireless mmWave nodesforming a connection based on beacon reception power according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a wireless node topology example of wireless mmWave nodesforming a connection based on directional activity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of station hardware according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a beam pattern diagram generated by a mmW antenna systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a beam pattern diagram generated by a sub 6 GHz antennaaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a wireless node diagram of directional beam usage for 2 peersserved by one beam according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a wireless node diagram of directional beam update after onepeer moving to a new directional beam according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B is a flow diagram of beacon transmission withusage-aware indicators according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B is a flow diagram beacons with usage-awareindicators according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are diagrams of a beacon and associateddirectional activity map broadcasting according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a wireless node diagram of directional beacons showing coarseversus fine beams utilized according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 21A and FIG. 21B is a diagram of a beacon frame and node diagram ofbeacon directional activity bits as utilized according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a wireless node diagram of a directional beacon activityindicator and beam selection performed according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are wireless node diagrams comparing anon-optimized mesh network to directional beacon activity indicatortransmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a wireless node diagram showing handling of interferencebetween local mesh groups according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. Existing Directional Wireless Network Technology

1.1. WLAN Systems

In WLAN systems, 802.11 defines two modes of scanning; passive andactive scanning. The following are the characteristics of passivescanning. (a) A new station (STA), attempting to join a network,examines each channel and waits for beacon frames for up toMaxChannelTime. (b) If no beacon is received, then the new STA moves toanother channel, thus saving battery power since the new STA does nottransmit any signal in scanning mode. The STA should wait enough time ateach channel so that it does not miss the beacons. If a beacon is lost,the STA should wait for another beacon transmission interval (BTI).

The following are the characteristics of active scanning. (a) A new STAwanting to join a local network sends probe request frames on eachchannel, according to the following. (a)(1) STA moves to a channel,waits for incoming frames or a probe delay timer to expire. (a)(2) If noframe is detected after the timer expires, the channel is considered tobe not in use. (a)(3) If a channel is not in use, the STA moves to a newchannel. (a)(4) If a channel is in use, the STA gains access to themedium using regular DCF and sends a probe request frame. (a)(5) The STAwaits for a desired period of time (e.g., Minimum Channel Time) toreceive a response to the probe request if the channel was never busy.The STA waits for more time (e.g., Maximum Channel Time) if the channelwas busy and a probe response was received.

(b) A Probe Request can use a unique service set identifier (SSID), listof SSIDs or a broadcast SSID. (c) Active scanning is prohibited in somefrequency bands. (d) Active scanning can be a source of interference andcollision, especially if many new STAs arrive at the same time and areattempting to access the network. (e) Active scanning is a faster way(more rapid) for STAs to gain access to the network compared to the useof passive scanning, since STAs do not need to wait for beacons. (f) Ininfrastructure basic service set (BSS) and IBSS, at least one STA isawake to receive and respond to probes. (g) STAs in mesh basic serviceset (MBSS) might not be awake at any point of time to respond. (h) Whenradio measurement campaigns are active, nodes might not answer the proberequests. (i) Collision of probe responses can arise. STAs mightcoordinate the transmission of probe responses by allowing the STA thattransmitted the last beacon to transmit the first Probe Response. Othernodes can follow and use back-off times and regular distributedcoordination function (DCF) channel access to avoid collision.

FIG. 1 depicts the use of active scanning in an IEEE 802.11 WLAN,depicting a scanning station sending a probe and two responding stationswhich receive and respond to the probe. The figure also shows theminimum and maximum probe response timing. The values G1 is shown set toSIFS which is the interframe spacing prior to transmission of anacknowledgment, while G3 is DIFS which is DCF interframe spacing,represented the time delay for which a sender waits after completing abackoff period before sending an RTS package.

1.2. IEEE 802.11s mesh WLAN

The IEEE 802.11s (hereafter 802.11s) is a standard that adds wirelessmesh networking capabilities to the 802.11 standard. In 802.11s newtypes of radio stations are defined as well as new signaling to enablemesh network discovery, establishing peer-to-peer connection, androuting of data through the mesh network.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a mesh network where a mix of non-meshSTA connect to Mesh-STA/AP (solid lines) and Mesh STAs connect to othermesh STA (dotted lines) including a mesh portal. Nodes in mesh networksuse the same scanning techniques defined in the 802.11 standard fordiscovering neighbors. The identification of the mesh network is givenby the Mesh ID element contained in the Beacon and the Probe Responseframes. In one mesh network, all mesh STAs use the same mesh profile.Mesh profiles are considered the same if all parameters in the meshprofiles match. The mesh profile is included in the Beacon and ProbeResponse frames, so that the mesh profile can be obtained by itsneighbor mesh STAs through the scan.

When a mesh STA discovers a neighbor mesh STA through the scanningprocess, the discovered mesh STA is considered a candidate peer meshSTA. It may become a member of the mesh network, of which the discoveredmesh STA is a member, and establish a mesh peering with the neighbormesh STA. The discovered neighbor mesh STA may be considered a candidatepeer mesh STA when the mesh STA uses the same mesh profile as thereceived Beacon or Probe Response frame indicates for the neighbor meshSTA.

The mesh STA attempts to maintain the discovered neighbor's informationin a Mesh Neighbors Table which includes: (a) neighbor MAC address; (b)operating channel number; and (c) the most recently observed link statusand quality information. If no neighbors are detected, the mesh STAadopts the Mesh ID for its highest priority profile and remains active.All the previous signaling to discover neighbor mesh STAs are performedin broadcast mode. It should be appreciated that 802.11s was nottargeted for networks with directional wireless communications.

FIG. 3 depicts a Mesh Identification element (Mesh ID element) which isused to advertise the identification of a Mesh Network. Mesh ID istransmitted in a Probe request, by a new STA willing to join a meshnetwork, and in beacon and signals, by existing mesh network STAs. AMesh ID field of length 0 indicates the wildcard Mesh ID, which is usedwithin a Probe Request frame. A wildcard Mesh ID is a specific ID thatprevents a non-mesh STA from joining a mesh network. It should berecognized that a mesh station is a STA that has more features than anon-mesh station, for example, it is like having the STA running as amodule in additional to some other modules to serve the meshfunctionality. If the STA does not have this mesh module it should notbe allowed to connect to a mesh network.

FIG. 4 depicts a Mesh configuration element as contained in Beaconframes and Probe Response frames transmitted by mesh STAs, and it isused to advertise mesh services. The main contents of the MeshConfiguration elements are: (a) a path selection protocol identifier;(b) a path selection metric identifier; (c) a congestion control modeidentifier; (d) a synchronization method identifier; and (e) anauthentication protocol identifier. The contents of the MeshConfiguration Element together with the Mesh ID form a mesh profile.

The standard 802.11a defines many procedures and mesh functionalitiesincluding: mesh discovery, mesh peering management, mesh security, meshbeaconing and synchronization, mesh coordination function, mesh powermanagement, mesh channel switching, three address, four address, andextended address frame formats, mesh path selection and forwarding,interworking with external networks, intra-mesh congestion control andemergency service support in mesh BSS.

1.3. Millimeter Wave in WLAN

WLANs in millimeter wave bands generally require the use of directionalantennas for transmission, reception or both, to account for the highpath loss and to provide sufficient SNR for communication. Usingdirectional antennas in transmission or reception makes the scanningprocess directional as well. IEEE 802.11ad and the new standard 802.11aydefine procedures for scanning and beamforming for directionaltransmission and reception over the millimeter wave band.

1.4. IEEE 802.11ad Scanning and BF Training

An example of a mmWave WLAN state-of-the-art system is the 802.11adstandard.

1.4.1. Scanning

A new STA operates on passive or active scanning modes to scan for aspecific SSID, a list of SSIDs, or all discovered SSIDs. To passivelyscan, a STA scans for DMG beacon frames containing the SSID. To activelyscan: a DMG STA transmit Probe Request frames containing the desiredSSID or one or more SSID List elements. The DMG STA might also have totransmit DMG Beacon frames or perform beamforming training prior to thetransmission of Probe Request frames.

1.4.2. BF Training

BF training is a bidirectional sequence of BF training frametransmissions that uses a sector sweep and provides the necessarysignaling to allow each STA to determine appropriate antenna systemsettings for both transmission and reception.

The 802.11ad BF training process can be performed in three phases. (1) Asector level sweep phase is performed whereby directional transmissionwith low gain (quasi-Omni) reception is performed for link acquisition.(2) A refinement stage is performed that adds receive gain and finaladjustment for combined transmit and receive. (3) Tracking is thenperformed during data transmission to adjust for channel changes.

1.4.3. 802.11ad SLS BF Training Phase

This focuses on the sector level sweep (SLS) mandatory phase of the802.11ad standard. During SLS, a pair of STAs exchange a series ofsector sweep (SSW) frames (or beacons in case of transmit sectortraining at the PCP/AP) over different antenna sectors to find the oneproviding highest signal quality. The station that transmits first iscalled the initiator; the station that transmits second is referred toas the responder.

During a transmit sector sweep (TXSS), SSW frames are transmitted ondifferent sectors while the pairing node (the responder) receivesutilizing a quasi-Omni directional pattern. The responder determines theantenna array sector from the initiator which provided the best linkquality (e.g., SNR).

FIG. 5 depicts the concept of sector sweep (SSW) in 802.11ad. In thisfigure, an example is given in which STA 1 is an initiator of the SLSand STA 2 is the responder. STA 1 sweeps through all of the transmitantenna pattern fine sectors while STA 2 receives in a quasi-Omnipattern. STA 2 feeds back to STA 2 the best sector it received from STA1.

FIG. 6 illustrates the signaling of the sector-level sweep (SLS)protocol as implemented in 802.11ad specifications. Each frame in thetransmit sector sweep includes information on sector countdownindication (CDOWN), a Sector ID, and an Antenna ID. The best Sector IDand Antenna ID information are fed back with the Sector Sweep Feedbackand Sector Sweep ACK frames.

FIG. 7 depicts the fields for the sector sweep frame (an SSW frame) asutilized in the 802.11ad standard, with the fields outlined below. TheDuration field is set to the time until the end of the SSW frametransmission. The RA field contains the MAC address of the STA that isthe intended receiver of the sector sweep. The TA field contains the MACaddress of the transmitter STA of the sector sweep frame.

FIG. 8 illustrates data elements within the SSW field. The principleinformation conveyed in the SSW field is as follows. The Direction fieldis set to 0 to indicate that the frame is transmitted by the beamforminginitiator and set to 1 to indicate that the frame is transmitted by thebeamforming responder. The CDOWN field is a down-counter indicating thenumber of remaining DMG Beacon frame transmissions to the end of theTXSS. The sector ID field is set to indicate sector number through whichthe frame containing this SSW field is transmitted. The DMG Antenna IDfield indicates which DMG antenna the transmitter is currently using forthis transmission. The RXSS Length field is valid only when transmittedin a CBAP and is reserved otherwise. This RXSS Length field specifiesthe length of a receive sector sweep as required by the transmittingSTA, and is defined in units of a SSW frame. The SSW Feedback field isdefined below.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B depict SSW feedback fields. The format shown in FIG.9A is utilized when transmitted as part of an Internal Sublayer Service(ISS), while the format of FIG. 9B is used when not transmitted as partof an ISS. The Total Sectors in the ISS field indicate the total numberof sectors that the initiator uses in the ISS. The Number of RX DMGAntennas subfield indicates the number of receive DMG antennas theinitiator uses during a subsequent Receive Sector Sweep (RSS). TheSector Select field contains the value of the Sector ID subfield of theSSW field within the frame that was received with best quality in theimmediately preceding sector sweep. The DMG Antenna Select fieldindicates the value of the DMG Antenna ID subfield of the SSW fieldwithin the frame that was received with best quality in the immediatelypreceding sector sweep. The SNR Report field is set to the value of theSNR from the frame that was received with best quality during theimmediately preceding sector sweep, and which is indicated in the sectorselect field. The poll required field is set to 1 by a non-PCP/non-APSTA to indicate that it requires the PCP/AP to initiate communicationwith the non-PCP/non-AP. The Poll Required field is set to 0 to indicatethat the non-PCP/non-AP has no preference about whether the PCP/APinitiates the communication.

2. Introduction to On-Demand Route Synchronization and Beamforming

2.1. Problem Statement

Wireless local area network (WLAN) station transmit beacons for networkannouncement, resource management and synchronization purposes. Inmillimeter wave (mm-wave) communications the transmission of thesebeacons is directional which provides higher antenna gain towardovercoming path-loss and the near specular channel characteristics. Thestation nodes can receive multiple usable beams from the sametransmitter through line of sight and reflected paths. In addition,nodes might receive multiple beams from multiple transmitters in thearea it is scanning. A station node sending or receiving data through aspecific directional beam might create interference to the activereception of other stations, or itself suffer from interference fromtransmission by other stations.

Nodes typically rely on Omni-directional sensing to access the channel,if a listen-before-talk protocol is required. However, using listenbefore talk does not provide information about spatial channel usage.Knowing the status of ongoing activity in a specific direction canimprove node decisions when the node forms new connections, or inavoiding a specific communication direction. It can be an importantbenefit when the node receives information about usage of this beamdirection (e.g., how much this direction is occupied) before making adecision of which directional beam to use or avoid.

In cases where a central controller is not available to manage nodeconnectivity and interference, a distributed system is needed to managenode connectivity and avoid directional interference.

2.2. Contribution of the Present Disclosure

A method and apparatus is described for signaling and receivinginformation between nodes in the same network, or across differentnetworks, regarding the spatial occupancy of each transmissiondirection. Nodes can transmit information to other neighboring nodesthat indicate which spectral direction is occupied with transmissionsand which directions are occupied with reception. In the presentdisclosure, nodes utilize this information to route their data, to formconnections with other nodes, to avoid spectrally congested beams and/orto coordinate their transmissions with one another.

3. Embodiments of Present Disclosure

3.1. Topology Under Consideration

FIG. 10 illustrates and example embodiment 10 of multiple BSSs havingmultiple access points (APs) serving multiple stations (STAs). Thestations scan for beacons in the surrounding area and attempt toestablish connection to the one found to have the highest receivedpower. This usually represents the station which is closest in distance,or the station with the shortest line of sight to that receivingstation. In the figure, stations are seen as STA1 12, STA2 14, STA3 16,STA4 18, STA5 20, STA6 22, as well as AP1 24, AP2 26, and AP3 28,between which are shown communication paths (TX/RX) by the double headedarrows.

However, these communications could result in serious directionalinterference or spectrum access problems. Consider for example, how STA214 and STA3 16 share the same directional beam from AP3. In addition, itcan be seen that STA1 12, STA3 16 and STA4 18 will also experienceinterference whenever the channel is used by both APs (AP2 26 and AP328) in a distributed manner.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example embodiment 30 configured for avoiding theabove interference situations. In this example STA3 16 and STA4 18 avoidusing the common direction seen in FIG. 10, and instead establishconnection to a further away AP (API 24), whereby both of these stationsthen enjoy an interference free direction of communication. The samesituation is shown for STA6 22 and STA 5 20.

In order to achieve the above directional transmission selections in adistributed network setup, the station operating protocols (software,firmware, and/or hardware) of the present disclosure utilize beaconsconfigured for carrying information about directional usage, providingannouncements that can aid other network stations toward furthercoordinating their directional transmission decisions.

3.2. Station Hardware Configuration

FIG. 12 illustrates an example embodiment 50 of the hardwareconfiguration for a node (wireless station in the network). In thisexample a computer processor (CPU) 56 and memory (RAM) 58 are coupled toa bus 54, which is coupled to an I/O path 52 giving the node externalI/O, such as to sensors, actuators and so forth. Instructions frommemory are executed on processor 56 to execute a program whichimplements the communication protocols. This host machine is shownconfigured with a mmW modem 60 coupled to radio-frequency (RF) circuitry62 a, 62 b, 62 c to a plurality of antennas 64 a, 64 b, 64 c through64n, 66 a, 66 b, 66 c through 66 n, and 68 a, 68 b, 68 c through 68 n totransmit and receive frames with neighboring nodes. In addition, thehost machine is also seen with a sub-6 GHz modem 70 coupled toradio-frequency (RF) circuitry 72 to antenna(s) 74.

Thus, this host machine is shown in a preferred embodiment as configuredwith two modems (multi-band) and their associated RF circuitry forproviding communication on two different bands. The millimeter wave(mmW) band modem and its associated RF circuitries are configured fortransmitting and receiving data in the mmW band. The sub-6 GHz modem andits associated RF circuitry are configured for transmitting andreceiving data in the sub-6 GHz band. It should be appreciated that thepresent disclosure can be implemented in situations which only have thedirectional transmission at the mmW band and do not provide the sub-6GHz band.

The two modems and their associated RF circuitry are meant tocommunicate on two different bands. The mmW band modem and itsassociated RF circuitries are transmitting and receiving data in the mmWband. The Sub-6 GHz modem and its associated RF circuitry aretransmitting and receiving data in the sub-6 GHz band.

Although 3 RF circuitries are shown coupled to the mmW modem in thisexample, it should be appreciated that an arbitrary number of RFcircuits can be coupled to the mmW modem. In general, larger numbers ofRF circuitry will result in broader coverage of the antenna beamdirection.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example embodiment of mmW beam patterns 90,showing antenna directions which can be utilized by a node to generatethirty-six (36) antenna sector patterns. The node in this example isdepicted as implementing three (3) mmW RF circuits and connectedantennas, and each mmW RF circuitry and connected antenna generatestwelve (12) beamforming patterns, which is termed as the node havingthirty-six (36) antenna sectors. But for the sake of simplicity ofillustration, the following descriptions will exemplify nodescommunicating across a smaller number of antenna sectors. It should beappreciated that any arbitrary beam pattern can be mapped to an antennasector. Typically, the beam pattern is formed to generate a sharp beam,but it is possible that the beam pattern is generated to transmit orreceive signals from multiple angles.

The number of RF circuits and antennas being utilized is typicallydetermined by hardware constraints of a specific device. It should benoted that some of the RF circuits and antennas may be disabled when thenode determines it does not need to be utilized for communicating withneighboring nodes.

In at least one embodiment, the mmW RF circuitry includes frequencyconverter, array antenna controller, and so forth, and is connected tomultiple antennas which are controlled to perform beamforming fortransmission and reception. In this way the node can transmit signalsusing multiple sets of beam patterns, each beam pattern direction beingconsidered as an antenna sector.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example embodiment 110 of an antenna pattern forthe sub-6 GHz modem assumed in this example to use a Quasi-Omni antenna114 attached to its RF circuitry 112. It should be appreciated thatother antenna pattern variations can be utilized without departing fromthe present teachings.

3.3. Directional Beacon Channel-Usage Aware

Station nodes are configured according to the present disclosure, thatwhen transmitting beacons they keep track of average statistics of itschannel usage, transmission, and reception in each beam direction. Thetime window over which these statistics are collected and maintained canbe defined and adjusted according to each use case and application.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example embodiment 130 in which nodes accordingto the present disclosure maintain directional statistics as perdirection and per peer statistic, to allow updating usage information ifa peer is turned off or departs from one direction to use anotherdirection. In the figure a STA1 132 and STA2 134 are seen communicatingwith a node 136 which can transmit beacons 138 in all directions. Inthis example, one direction (Beam 0) 140 serves both peer nodes (STA1132 and STA2 134) from which statistics are collected for each peer,STA1 and STA2, and the accumulated statistics are calculated as well. Inthe figure it is seen that Beam 0 has a 60% utilization with STA1 132accounting for 40% of utilizing and STA2 134 accounting for theremaining 20% of utilization.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example embodiment 150 of nodes maintainingdirectional statistics, which is similar to the previous figure. In thisexample, STA1 152 and STA2 154 are seen communicating with node 156.Node 156 can communicate (mmW) in all directions 158, and is seencommunicating with STA1 152 in with Beam 0 in direction 160, andcommunicating with STA2 154 with Beam 4 in direction 162. In comparisonto FIG. 15, FIG. 16 shows that one peer, STA2 154, has been moved toutilize a new direction with the associated serving beam updated to beBeam 4 162. Thus, the statistics for STA2 154 are moved to the newserving beam, Beam 4. Beam 0 usage statistics are updated to reflectSTA1 usage only. In the Example, Beam 0 is seen to have 40% usage, whileBeam 4 has 20% usage.

FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B illustrates an example embodiment 170 of beacontransmission with usage-aware indicators. The present disclosureconsiders that these frames having usage-aware indicators, can bevarious types of frames, including beacon frames, beamforming frames,SSW frames, BRP frames, and so forth. In FIG. 17A, when a node commencesits operation 172, all statistics are preferably reset 174 for alreadysetup links if it has predefined links. If the node has no links alreadysetup, then the database for the directional beams is empty. At theappropriate time the node transmits mmW beacons 176 in all directionsusing directional beams. The beacons are configured to contain anindicator for relaying information about the use of the channeldirections or the specific direction of that beam.

A determination 178 is made of when to transmit a new beacon. At thetime of the next beacon transmission interval, before beacontransmission, the node checks 180 for new connectivity (any nodesjoining). If a new communication connection is established, executionmoves to block 182 with new usage statistics collected for thisdirectional transmission. Then in block 184 in FIG. 17B, statisticscommence to be collected for link usage for established links. Then inblock 186 a check is made as to how active link usage compares tothresholds, such as pre-defined thresholds. If the active link usageexceeds the change threshold, then in block 188 the node sends thebeacons with this new usage indicator and returns to block 176 in FIG.17A.

The node transmitting the beacons can also choose to attach twoindications, one for transmission and one for reception, to thetransmitted beacon in the direction of the transmission and/orreception. Also in regards transmitting the beacons, the system can alsochoose to attach the collected statistics about the link usage in thetransmission, reception, or both the transmission and reception, to thetransmitted beacon in the direction of the transmission and/orreception.

3.3.2. Directional Beacon Channel-Usage Aware Reception

FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B illustrates an example embodiment 190 forutilizing channel usage-aware directional beacons. The process commences192 in FIG. 18A and nodes listen (look, attempt to detect) 194 forbeacons in order to determine channel usage in each direction. A checkis made 196 if the received beacon indicates active transmission istaking place. The received beacon should contain an indication of activetransmission and/or reception (flag bits). It also can have informationabout the usage statistics. If it is not active transmission, then areturn to block 194 is made, otherwise block 198 is reached whichdetermines whether the information received from the beacon indicates acontradiction exists with a current communication connection or willexist with a future communication connection. Whenever a beacon isreceived that indicates a contradiction, the node reacts upon thecontradiction. The contradiction might represent a concurrenttransmission or reception in the same direction where the node is usingthe channel. This represents a possible interference imposed by the nodeon other transmissions occurring on the network or a possibleinterference affecting the node from the other concurrent transmissionsin the network where the beacon is detected.

Once a contradiction is detected, a node can decide to take either aproactive or a passive approach to solving this contradiction. When acontradiction is detected, then block 200 is reached in FIG. 18B whichchecks for proactive versus passive contradiction resolution. If block200 indicates passive contradiction resolution, then block 206 isreached and the node marks this direction as busy and searches for otherdirections that are available, for example for which no beacon receivedin that direction has usage indicator bits set, before returning tosearching for beacons at block 194. The node continues scanning until itfinds a suitable direction that is not used by other connection.

If it is determined at block 200 that proactive contradiction resolutionis to be performed, then block 202 is reached. In proactivecontradiction resolution, the node reaches out to the node which isindicating channel activity to request contradiction resolution. Thisresolution can be in the form of spectral sharing, coordination oracquiring the channel by one of the two transmission. The node continueslistening for (attempting to receive) beacons to monitor activity in thechannel. Specifically, these resolutions are exemplified at block 202with performing a quick beam forming with the beacon source and at block204 by indicating the contradiction, prior to returning to searching forbeacons at block 194.

3.4. Beacon Usage-Aware Transmission Technique

Information is added to the beacon frame to indicate to other wirelessnodes in the surrounding area about the transmission and receptionactivity of the node transmitting the beacon.

Two options for sending the directional activity information with thebeacon frame are stated below. These option can be performed throughbroadcasting a directional transmission and reception activity map inall directions, or by sending directional activity bits associated witheach beacon transmission.

This activity map can be in the form of an indicator of activity in thespecific direction where the beacon is transmitted or inclusive to alldirections the node is covering. The collected statistics (transmission,reception, and/or transmission-and-reception (channel usage)) in thespecific direction where the beacon is transmitted or inclusive to alldirections the node is covering, can also be added to the activity map.In the next sections, the activity map can refer to the simpleindication of transmission, reception, or transmission-and-reception andcan also refers to the collected statistics (transmission, reception,and/or transmission-and-reception (channel usage)). The activity map canbe a collection of all described information as well.

3.4.1. Directional Activity Map Broadcasting

FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B illustrate an example embodiment 210, 220, 230 ofdirectional activity mapping. In FIG. 19A beacons carry a map of thetransmitting 212 and receiving 214 beams of that node. In the exampleshown each field (bit in this case) indicates information for thatdirection. Using a single flag bit for each, a direction is eitheractive 1, or not active 0 (although the reverse binary states can beutilized). In the maps shown, Beam 0 216 is inactive, along with all theother directions, except for Beam 13 218 which indicates it is active.In the lower portion of FIG. 19A an embodiment 220 is seen with beaconframe 222 having an appended transmit (TX) map 224 and receive (RX) map226.

This map is broadcasted by all beacons transmitted in all directions.Once a node receives this map, it can compare the beacon transmittingbeam ID to the corresponding bit in the map to decide if this directionis in active mode of transmission or reception.

In FIG. 19B, an illustration 230 is seen with a node 234 transmittingbeacons from all beams in all directions 236 carrying the TX and RX map.In the example shown node 234 is shown in relation to node 232, whichhas active transmission and reception through Beam 13 238. The TX and RXactivity map of FIG. 19A indicated the activity of Beam 13 by settingthe bit associated to it in the TX and RX activity map. All other bitsare set to zero since no active transmission or reception is occurringin these directions. It will be noted that any receiver receiving one ofthese transmitted beacons can find out the beacon transmitting beam IDand the corresponding bit in the map. Nodes can obtain information aboutother activity in the surrounding area from the transmission andreception of the activity map even if the active direction beacon is notreceived. In the example, information can be obtained about Beam 12 240,Beam 11 242, or that Beam 0 244 is inactive.

The TX map 212 can carry information more than 1 or zero to indicatemultiple levels of occupancy or the exact collected statistic of eachdirection. The RX map 214 can carry information more than 1 or zero toindicate multiple levels of occupancy or the exact collected statisticof each direction. The TX map and the RX map can be combined to one mapif it is required to represent TX/RX map. The TX/RX map can carryinformation more than 1 or zero to indicate multiple levels of activityor the exact collected statistic of each direction.

3.4.2. Beacon Activity Indicator Bits

As was shown in the example in the upper portion of FIG. 19A, eachbeacon frame can contain two additional bits for each communicationdirection to indicate transmission and reception activity. Thetransmission and reception activity indicators represent the activity inthe same direction where the beacon is being transmitted.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example embodiment 250 comparing use of coarsedata beacons with fine data beacons. It should be appreciated that datamight be transmitted with finer beams compared to the beams beacon aretransmitted from. That is to say that a beacon transmitted from a coarsebeam should indicate transmission from any of the fine beams that lay inits foot print or coverage area. This understanding applies here and tothe previous section 3.4.1. A first node 252 is shown in relation to asecond node 254 which is shown having fine beams 258 a through 258 f,with beam 258 c being active. A coarse beam 260 is shown in relation tothe fine beams, and it is also active. As shown in the figure, if thebeacon is transmitted using coarse beams compared to the datatransmission or reception beams, the activity indicator in thetransmitted beacon represents activity of any of the beams that can becovered by the beacon transmission beam. So the directions indicated bythe activity indicators need not have the same resolution as the actualcommunication directions of the beams. If the direction of the beaconhas no activity or the threshold for setting the activity indicator isnot met, the beacon directionality activity indicator is reset to zero.

FIG. 21A and FIG. 21B illustrate an example embodiment 270 of settingthe activity indicator 280. If the direction of the beacon has someactivity and the threshold for setting the activity indicator is met,the beacon directionality activity indicator is set to one. In FIG. 21Aa beacon frame 272 is shown for the inactive direction, with bits 274for TX and RX being set to a state, in this case binary “0” to indicateinactivity, while in beacon frame 276 these TX/RX bits are set to “1”indicating activity.

In FIG. 21B it is seen that node 282 is receiving the beacons from node284, which is transmitting 286 in all directions. Node 282 receives thebeacon from direction 288 of node 284 and can directly determine if thatspecific direction has ongoing transmission or reception, or not.

The TX activity indicator 274 can carry information of more than 1 orzero to indicate multiple levels of occupancy or the exact collectedstatistic of each direction. The RX activity indicator 278 can carryinformation more than 1 or zero to indicate multiple levels of occupancyor the exact collected statistic of each direction. The TX activityindicator and the RX activity indicator can be combined to one activityindicator if it is required to represent TX/RX activity indicator. TheTX/RX activity indicator can carry information more than 1 or zero toindicate multiple levels of activity or the exact collected statistic ofeach direction.

3.5. Example of Beacon Aware Transmission Uses

Knowing information about the directional transmission and reception ofthe surrounding area around a wireless node can be of great value. Thewireless node can use this information to select a better direction fornode connectivity or to avoid interfering or being interfered by othernodes in the surrounding area. This information might be a trigger tocommence in a coordination process between nodes sharing the samedirection for better spectral sharing or directional access management.

It should be noted that although the examples reflect a simple binaryactivity/non-activity indicator, the present disclosure alsocontemplates the use of additional bits per direction in certainsituations, if more information is desired. For example with 2 bits perdirection a level of activity can be conveyed: 00_(b)=none, 01_(b)=˜25%,10_(b)=˜50%, and 11_(b)>75%.

3.5.1. Physical Link Beam Selection

A node might avoid the best line-of-sight (LOS) beam, for example, withits peer node once other transmission or reception is detected in thedirection of the LOS beam of interest. The node once it senses anon-going activity in the direction where its link is of highest powermight react to this in a passive or proactive way. The node might decideto avoid the LOS and highest power beam with its peer node for exampleand look for other alternatives.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example embodiment 290 comparing LOS withnon-line-of-sight (NLOS) beam selection. Shown at the right portion ofthe figure, in an LOS beam selection, node 294 selects LOS beamdirection 298 from node 292 which is transmitting in all directions 296.However, at the left portion of the figure node 294′ forms a link withits peer node 292′ through a NLOS beam 304 that is reflecting from anearby wall 302. So although ongoing transmissions may be along path 300between the nodes, the nodes can select this NLOS direction for thisperiod of time. The node might decide to communicate with the other nodewhere the beacon with activity indicator was discovered. Thecommunication can be through a quick beamforming and requesting channelcoordination. The coordination might result in freeing this directionfor the requesting node or denying the use of this direction.

3.5.2. Distributed Mesh Network Coordination

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B illustrate an example embodiment 310, 330 incomparing an unoptimized mesh network, with one optimized with adirectional beam activity indicator. In FIG. 23A a distributed networkor mesh scenario is seen in which nodes are forming links to multiplepeers in the network. In particular the nodes shown comprise M1 312, M2314, M3 316, M4 318, M5 320, M6 322, M7 324, M8 326 and M9 328. Linksare shown with solid lines showing communication interconnectionsbetween nearby stations. However, these highly directive beams and densedeployments are expected to create a lot of interference betweenstations in the mesh network.

Utilizing the directional beacon activity indicator whose use is shownin FIG. 23B can be of great value to distributedly optimize networkconnectivity. Nodes can optimize their connectivity upon node setup orintroduction in the network or throughout their operation due to thedynamic change of the node location or the environment around it. Nodesare configured to thus avoid forming connectivity with other peer nodesthat will result in interfering with ongoing transmission or receptionin that direction. Nodes are configured to avoid forming connectivitywith other peer nodes that will suffer from interference with ongoingtransmission or reception in that direction. Using the directionalbeacon activity indicator some connections will be optimized or removedto avoid interference. As an example, in FIG. 23B STA M7 324 transmitbeacons in all directions 334 and sets the activity indicator indirections of M1 312, M5 320, M6 322 and M8 326. Other nodes in thenetwork, in this example M2 314, M3 316 and M9 328 can detect thebeacons from M7 and thus recognize the communication occupancy of thesedirections. M2, M3 and M9 according to the present disclosure can decideto reroute their data away from these directions or start some spectralsharing coordination procedure, this is why the links 336, 338 and 340from M2, M3 and M9, respectively, as directed in a direction to/from M7324 are shown as a dashed line, because a different direction/path maybe selected for the communication based on receiving the disclosedactivity indicator.

3.5.3. Multiple-Network Coordination

Different WLAN networks and architectures might coexist and share thesame spectrum, whereas the present disclosure is applicable tomulti-network coordination.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example embodiment 350 in which three networks352, 354 and 356 are in close proximity and using the same spectrum.Nodes can “hear” (receive) beacons from other networks and figure out(determine) the direction of activity based on the disclosed activityindicator. In the example shown information 358 is received 360, 362 and364 between the networks which allow the nodes in the network todetermine possible interference and be able to make different directionselections toward optimizing communications within their own network. Ifa node finds that its direction of communication, or its potentialdirection of communication, is already occupied by other ongoingtransmission through receiving a beacon indicating activity in thisdirection, the node might consider passive or proactive approaches toremediating the interference. For example, the node might try to searchfor other directions to/from a link with its intended peer node orreroute its data through other nodes. The node can be configured tocommence a coordination procedure with the other nodes where thedirectional beacon with activity indicator was received.

3.6. Coordination Announcement through Quick Beamforming

Once a node discovers on-going activity in the direction of interest tothis node it might decide to reach out to this node. Although this nodemight not be part of the network of the node where the beacon withactivity indication has been received, the node might decide to tell theother nodes about its existence. An exchange of beamforming frames (SSWor BRP frames) can be performed to beamform with the new node. Theexchanged beamforming frames can include an indication field (e.g., onebit) to indicate that the purpose of communication is coordination notjoining the network. The coordination can comprise any type of spectralsharing, or rerouting data of one of the links to other routes.

3.7. Multiple-Band Operation

If the wireless device is equipped with multi-band operation (mmW bandand sub-6 GHz band for example), the node can send the mmW band spectralusage information over the sub-6GHz band in situations whereinterference is likely to arise. A directional activity map like the onedefined in 3.4.1. can be transmitted over the sub-6 GHz map to indicatethe directional spectral usage on the mmW band. This information can bebroadcasted with the sub-6 GHz beacon with an indication that this isrelated to other bands and channel and indicating the band and channelof concern. The mmW directional spectral usage can also be requestedover sub-6 GHz communication and the node receiving this request canrespond by a directional activity map for the band and channelrequested.

3.8. New Frame Format

3.8.1. Beacon Frame w/Directional Activity Indicator—Broadcast Mode

This is a frame that is similar to the regular 802.11 DMG beacons framesbut has some elements to allow some extra features. These frames aretransmitted by an AP, STA or mesh AP node in all directions. This frameis contains specific details for new nodes, current nodes in the networkand nodes outside the transmitter network to indicate currenttransmission and reception in the directions the node is transmittingbeacons. Each beacon transmits the same information about thedirectional transmission map of all supported directions. The beaconframe of should contain this information in addition to the typicalinformation in the regular beacon frame.

The beacon frame with directional activity indicator in broadcast modeis a beacon frame which also comprises the following fields.

Directional transmission activity indication map: Nxq bits, in which “N”is the number of directions that beacons are transmitted in and q is thenumber of bits to represent the activity in one direction. Each beacontransmitted contains a directional transmission activity map of alldirections supported.

Directional reception activity indication map: Nxq bits where N is thenumber of directions that beacons are received from and q is the numberof bits to represent the activity in one direction. Each beacon Receivedcontains a directional reception activity map of all directionssupported.

3.8.2. Beacon Frame w/Directional Activity Indicator—Bit Indicator Mode

This is a frame that is similar to the regular 802.11 DMG beacons framesbut has some elements to allow some extra features. These frames aretransmitted by an AP or mesh AP node in all directions. This framecontains specific details for new nodes, current nodes in the networkand nodes outside the transmitter network to indicate currenttransmission and reception in the directions the node is transmittingbeacons. Each beacon transmits unique information about the activity oftransmission and reception in the direction it is covering. The beaconframe contain this information in addition to the typical information inthe regular beacon frame. The beacon frame with directional activityindicator in bit indicator mode is a beacon frame which also comprisesthe following fields.

Beacon direction transmission activity indicator: q bits to indicate ifthere is a data transmission activity in the same direction the beaconis being transmitted. The data transmission activity can be representedby 1 bit or more depending on the required resolution to be indicated.

Beacon direction reception activity indicator: q bits to indicate ifthere is a data reception activity in the same direction the beacon isbeing transmitted. The data reception activity can be represented by 1bit or more depending on the required resolution to be indicated.

3.8.3. SSW/BRP Frames

This is a frame that is similar to the regular 802.11 SWW or BRP framesused for beam forming. These frames are sent by the STA in response toreceiving a beacon from a node with transmission or reception activityindication. The frame contains information to indicate the existence ofa new node trying to use the same direction of the received beacon andrequesting coordination. The beacon frame of contain this information inaddition to the typical information in the regular beacon frame.

The SSW/BRP frames additionally can comprise the following field.

Coordination request: 1-bit to inform the node of possible interferencein that direction and request coordination if possible.

Directional transmission activity indication map: Nxq bits, in which “N”is the number of directions that frame are transmitted in and q is thenumber of bits to represent the activity in one direction. Each frametransmitted contains a directional transmission activity map of alldirections supported.

Directional reception activity indication map: Nxq bits where N is thenumber of directions that frame are received from and q is the number ofbits to represent the activity in one direction. Each frame Receivedcontains a directional reception activity map of all directionssupported.

Direction transmission activity indicator: q bits to indicate if thereis a data transmission activity in the same direction the frame is beingtransmitted. The data transmission activity can be represented by 1 bitor more depending on the required resolution to be indicated.

Directional reception activity indicator: q bits to indicate if there isa data reception activity in the same direction the frame is beingtransmitted. The data reception activity can be represented by 1 bit ormore depending on the required resolution to be indicated.

4. Summary of Disclosure Elements.

The following is a partial summary of aspects associated with thepresent disclosure.

Beacons are sent with an indication of directions with active datatransmission. The indication can be a flag that represents whether thebeacon direction is occupied with active transmission/reception or not.The indication can be a broadcast of a map of the transmission activityin all directions.

Stations and new nodes in the network can use this direction informationto select a better through connection, for example to decide on whichAP/STA/MSTA to connect to, and/or to decide on which beam from the sameAP/STA/MSTA to connect to.

Stations and new nodes in the network can use this direction informationto initiate a distributed interference and resource coordination byexchanging messages in the direction of potential high interference.

Stations and new nodes in the network can use this direction informationto reroute data through other nodes/beams whenever there are alternativeroutes which are less spectrally congested, or that are suffering fromlowered levels of interference.

5. General Scope of Embodiments

The enhancements described in the presented technology can be readilyimplemented within various wireless (e.g., mmWave) transmitters,receivers and transceivers. It should also be appreciated that modernwireless transmitters, receivers and transceivers are preferablyimplemented to include one or more computer processor devices (e.g.,CPU, microprocessor, microcontroller, computer enabled ASIC, etc.) andassociated memory storing instructions (e.g., RAM, DRAM, NVRAM, FLASH,computer readable media, etc.) whereby programming (instructions) storedin the memory are executed on the processor to perform the steps of thevarious process methods described herein.

The computer and memory devices were not depicted in the diagrams forthe sake of simplicity of illustration, as one of ordinary skill in theart recognizes the use of computer devices for carrying out stepsinvolved with various modern wireless communication devices. Thepresented technology is non-limiting with regard to memory andcomputer-readable media, insofar as these are non-transitory, and thusnot constituting a transitory electronic signal.

It will also be appreciated that the computer readable media (memorystoring instructions) in these computational systems is“non-transitory”, which comprises any and all forms of computer-readablemedia, with the sole exception being a transitory, propagating signal.Accordingly, the disclosed technology may comprise any form ofcomputer-readable media, including those which are random access (e.g.,RAM), require periodic refreshing (e.g., DRAM), those that degrade overtime (e.g., EEPROMS, disk media), or that store data for only shortperiods of time and/or only in the presence of power, with the onlylimitation being that the term “computer readable media” is notapplicable to an electronic signal which is transitory.

Embodiments of the present technology may be described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according toembodiments of the technology, and/or procedures, algorithms, steps,operations, formulae, or other computational depictions, which may alsobe implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each blockor step of a flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and/or steps) in aflowchart, as well as any procedure, algorithm, step, operation,formula, or computational depiction can be implemented by various means,such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or morecomputer program instructions embodied in computer-readable programcode. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions maybe executed by one or more computer processors, including withoutlimitation a general purpose computer or special purpose computer, orother programmable processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe computer program instructions which execute on the computerprocessor(s) or other programmable processing apparatus create means forimplementing the function(s) specified.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts, and procedures, algorithms,steps, operations, formulae, or computational depictions describedherein support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunction(s), combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunction(s), and computer program instructions, such as embodied incomputer-readable program code logic means, for performing the specifiedfunction(s). It will also be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations, as well as any procedures, algorithms, steps, operations,formulae, or computational depictions and combinations thereof describedherein, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computersystems which perform the specified function(s) or step(s), orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer-readable programcode.

Furthermore, these computer program instructions, such as embodied incomputer-readable program code, may also be stored in one or morecomputer-readable memory or memory devices that can direct a computerprocessor or other programmable processing apparatus to function in aparticular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable memory or memory devices produce an article ofmanufacture including instruction means which implement the functionspecified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s). The computer programinstructions may also be executed by a computer processor or otherprogrammable processing apparatus to cause a series of operational stepsto be performed on the computer processor or other programmableprocessing apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer processor or otherprogrammable processing apparatus provide steps for implementing thefunctions specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s), procedure (s)algorithm(s), step(s), operation(s), formula(e), or computationaldepiction(s).

It will further be appreciated that the terms “programming” or “programexecutable” as used herein refer to one or more instructions that can beexecuted by one or more computer processors to perform one or morefunctions as described herein. The instructions can be embodied insoftware, in firmware, or in a combination of software and firmware. Theinstructions can be stored local to the device in non-transitory media,or can be stored remotely such as on a server, or all or a portion ofthe instructions can be stored locally and remotely. Instructions storedremotely can be downloaded (pushed) to the device by user initiation, orautomatically based on one or more factors.

It will further be appreciated that as used herein, that the termsprocessor, hardware processor, computer processor, central processingunit (CPU), and computer are used synonymously to denote a devicecapable of executing the instructions and communicating withinput/output interfaces and/or peripheral devices, and that the termsprocessor, hardware processor, computer processor, CPU, and computer areintended to encompass single or multiple devices, single core andmulticore devices, and variations thereof.

From the description herein, it will be appreciated that the presentdisclosure encompasses multiple embodiments which include, but are notlimited to, the following:

1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communications having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors each having different transmissiondirections; (b) a processor coupled to said wireless communicationcircuit within a station configured for operating on the mesh network;(c) a non-transitory memory storing instructions executable by theprocessor; and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by theprocessor, perform steps comprising: (d)(i) transmitting frames in all,or select directions, to other nodes in the network for broadcastingnetwork information, beamforming or other purpose; and (d)(ii)incorporating an activity indicator into the transmitted frames, whereinsaid activity indicator provides an indication of which communicationdirections have active data activity in transmission, reception ortransmission and/or receptions.

2. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidactivity indicator comprises a one or more bits representing whether theframe direction is occupied with active transmission and/or receptions,or is not occupied.

3. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising broadcasting said activity indicator as a map of activity foreach direction that a node is configured to communicate in.

4. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator forselecting a connection that is subject to less interference, or thatwill create less interference to other stations in the mesh network.

5. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing said selecting of a connection by deciding onwhich access point (AP) or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA) toconnect to.

6. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing said selecting of a connection by deciding onwhich beam from the same access point (AP) or station (STA) or meshstation (MSTA) to connect to.

7. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator ininitiating a distributed interference and resource coordination byexchanging messages in a direction of potential high interference tooptimize overall communications and create less interference betweennodes in the mesh network.

8. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator inrerouting data through other nodes or communication beams wheneveralternative communication routes exist which are less spectrallycongested or that are subject to less interference.

9. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidactivity indicator is utilized to signal which communication directionson a directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication protocol haveactive data transmissions.

10. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidwireless communication circuit is further configured for wirelesslycommunicating with other wireless communication stations utilizing sub-6GHz wireless communication, and communicating said directional indicatorfor the mmW directions over the sub-6 GHz wireless communication.

11. An apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communications having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors each having different transmissiondirections; (b) a processor coupled to said wireless communicationcircuit within a station configured for operating on the mesh network;(c) a non-transitory memory storing instructions executable by theprocessor; and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by theprocessor, perform steps comprising: (d)(i) transmitting frames in all,or select directions, to other nodes in the network for broadcastingnetwork information, beamforming or other purposes; (d)(ii)incorporating an activity indicator, comprising one or more bits perdirection, into the transmitted frames, wherein said activity indicatorprovides an indication of which communication directions have activedata activity in transmission, reception or transmission and/orreceptions; and (d)(iii) broadcasting said activity indicator as a mapof activity for each direction that a node is configured to communicatein.

12. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator forselecting a connection that is subject to less interference, or thatwill create less interference to other stations in the mesh network.

13. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing said selecting of a connection by deciding onwhich access point (AP) or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA) toconnect to.

14. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing said selecting of a connection by deciding onwhich beam from the same access point (AP) or station (STA) or meshstation (MSTA) to connect to.

15. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator ininitiating a distributed interference and resource coordination byexchanging messages in a direction of potential high interference tooptimize overall communications and create less interference betweennodes in the mesh network.

16. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator inrerouting data through other nodes or communication beams wheneveralternative communication routes exist which are less spectrallycongested or that are subject to less interference.

17. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidactivity indicator is utilized to signal which communication directionson a directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication protocol haveactive data transmissions.

18. The apparatus of any preceding or following embodiment, wherein saidwireless communication circuit is further configured for wirelesslycommunicating with other wireless communication stations utilizing sub-6GHz wireless communication, and communicating said directional indicatorfor the mmW directions over the sub-6 GHz wireless communication.

19. A method of performing wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) transmitting frames, from a wireless communicationcircuit configured for wirelessly communicating with other wirelesscommunication stations, utilizing directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communications having a plurality of antenna pattern sectors each havingdifferent transmission directions, in all or some directions to othernodes in the network for broadcasting network information, beamformingor other purposes; and (b) incorporating an activity indicator into thetransmitted frames, wherein said activity indicator provides anindication of which communication directions have active data activityin transmission, reception or transmission and/or receptions.

20. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein said activityindicator is broadcast as a map of activity for each direction that anode is configured to communicate in.

As used herein, the singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” may includeplural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Reference to an object in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.”

As used herein, the term “set” refers to a collection of one or moreobjects. Thus, for example, a set of objects can include a single objector multiple objects.

As used herein, the terms “substantially” and “about” are used todescribe and account for small variations. When used in conjunction withan event or circumstance, the terms can refer to instances in which theevent or circumstance occurs precisely as well as instances in which theevent or circumstance occurs to a close approximation. When used inconjunction with a numerical value, the terms can refer to a range ofvariation of less than or equal to ±10% of that numerical value, such asless than or equal to ±5%, less than or equal to ±4%, less than or equalto ±3%, less than or equal to ±2%, less than or equal to ±1%, less thanor equal to ±0.5%, less than or equal to ±0.1%, or less than or equal to±0.05%. For example, “substantially” aligned can refer to a range ofangular variation of less than or equal to ±10°, such as less than orequal to ±5°, less than or equal to ±4°, less than or equal to ±3°, lessthan or equal to ±2°, less than or equal to ±1°, less than or equal to±0.5°, less than or equal to ±0.1°, or less than or equal to ±0.05°.

Additionally, amounts, ratios, and other numerical values may sometimesbe presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that suchrange format is used for convenience and brevity and should beunderstood flexibly to include numerical values explicitly specified aslimits of a range, but also to include all individual numerical valuesor sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical valueand sub-range is explicitly specified. For example, a ratio in the rangeof about 1 to about 200 should be understood to include the explicitlyrecited limits of about 1 and about 200, but also to include individualratios such as about 2, about 3, and about 4, and sub-ranges such asabout 10 to about 50, about 20 to about 100, and so forth.

Although the description herein contains many details, these should notbe construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilledin the art.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thedisclosed embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in theart are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended tobe encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element,component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, ormethod step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element hereinis to be construed as a “means plus function” element unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for”. No claim elementherein is to be construed as a “step plus function” element unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “step for”.

1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a wireless network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communications having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors each having different transmissiondirections; (b) a processor coupled to said wireless communicationcircuit within a station configured for operating on the wirelessnetwork; (c) a non-transitory memory storing instructions executable bythe processor; and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by theprocessor, perform steps comprising: (i) transmitting frames in all, orselect directions, to other nodes in the coverage area for advertisingnetwork information, beamforming or other purpose; and (ii)incorporating an activity indicator into the transmitted frames, whereinsaid activity indicator comprises one or more bits representing whetherthe frame direction is occupied with active data activity intransmission, reception or transmission and/or receptions. 2-3.(canceled)
 4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising utilizing information from said activity indicator forselecting a connection that is subject to less interference, or thatwill induce less interference to other stations in the wireless network.5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein said instructions whenexecuted by the processor further perform steps comprising performingsaid selecting of a connection by deciding on which access point (AP) orstation (STA) or mesh station (MSTA) to connect to.
 6. The apparatus asrecited in claim 4, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising performing said selecting ofa connection by deciding on which beam from the same access point (AP)or station (STA) or mesh station (MSTA) to connect to.
 7. The apparatusas recited in claim 1, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising utilizing information fromsaid activity indicator in initiating a distributed interference andresource coordination by exchanging messages in a direction of potentialhigh interference to optimize overall communications and create lessinterference between nodes in the wireless network.
 8. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising utilizing information fromsaid activity indicator in rerouting data through other nodes orcommunication beams whenever alternative communication routes existwhich are less spectrally Page 3 congested or that are subject to lessinterference.
 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein saidactivity indicator is utilized to signal which communication directionson a directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication protocol haveactive data transmissions.
 10. The apparatus as recited in claim 9,wherein said wireless communication circuit is further configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing sub-6 GHz wireless communication, and communicating saiddirectional indicator for the mmW directions over the sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication.
 11. An apparatus for wireless communication in a wirelessnetwork, comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communications having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors each having different transmissiondirections; (b) a processor coupled to said wireless communicationcircuit within a station configured for operating on the wirelessnetwork; (c) a non-transitory memory storing instructions executable bythe processor; and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by theprocessor, perform steps comprising: (i) transmitting frames in all, orselect directions, to other nodes in the coverage area for advertisingnetwork information, beamforming or other purposes; (ii) calculating andmaintaining channel usage statistics per each direction and/or per eachother wireless communication station communicating with: (iii)incorporating an activity indicator, comprising one or more bits perdirection, into the transmitted frames, wherein said activity indicatorcomprises one or more bits representing whether the frame direction isoccupied with active data activity in transmission, reception ortransmission and/or receptions; and (iv) using the channel usagestatistics to compile the activity indicator advertised to otherwireless communication station in the coverage area.
 12. The apparatusas recited in claim 11, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising utilizing information fromsaid activity indicator for selecting a connection that is subject toless interference, or that will create less interference to otherstations in the mesh wireless network.
 13. The apparatus as recited inclaim 12, wherein said instructions when executed by the processorfurther perform steps comprising performing said selecting of aconnection by deciding on which access point (AP) or station (STA) ormesh station (MSTA) to connect to.
 14. The apparatus as recited in claim12, wherein said instructions when executed by the processor furtherperform steps comprising performing said selecting of a connection bydeciding on which beam from the same access point (AP) or station (STA)or mesh station (MSTA) to connect to.
 15. The apparatus as recited inclaim 11, wherein said instructions when executed by the processorfurther perform steps comprising utilizing information from saidactivity indicator in initiating a distributed interference and resourcecoordination by exchanging messages in a direction of potential highinterference to optimize overall communications and create lessinterference between nodes in the wireless network.
 16. The apparatus asrecited in claim 11, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising utilizing information fromsaid activity indicator in rerouting data through other nodes orcommunication beams whenever alternative communication routes existwhich are less spectrally congested or that are subject to lessinterference.
 17. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein saidactivity indicator is utilized to signal which communication directionson a directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication protocol haveactive data transmissions.
 18. The apparatus as recited in claim 17,wherein said wireless communication circuit is further configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing sub-6 GHz wireless communication, and communicating saiddirectional indicator for the mmW directions over the sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication.
 19. A method of performing wireless communication in awireless network, comprising: (a) transmitting frames, from a wirelesscommunication circuit configured for wirelessly communicating with otherwireless communication stations, utilizing directional millimeter-wave(mmW) communications having a plurality of antenna pattern sectors eachhaving different transmission directions, in all or some directions toother nodes in the network for broadcasting network information,beamforming or other purposes; and (b) incorporating an activityindicator into the transmitted frames, wherein said activity indicatorprovides an indication of channel usage statistics in transmission,reception or transmission and/or receptions.
 20. (canceled)